ANDY MURRAY has revealed how Centre Court was the only place he could escape the maelstrom of attention following his historic Wimbledon victory.

The Scot ended a 77-year wait for a British men’s singles winner last month when he beat Novak Djokovic to take his place in the pantheon of sporting greats.

Afterwards it felt the whole world wanted a piece of him and following a virtual non-stop 24-hour media marathon to celebrate his success, Murray was forced to lock himself in his own home in a desperate bid to escape the paparazzi.

When he finally ventured out the only place to offer him sanctuary was, somewhat ironically, the scene of his greatest triumph.

Indeed, it was only when he returned to the All England Club five days after his straight-sets victory over the world No.1 that a sense of calmness was restored and the enormity of his phenomenal achievement finally hit home.

Murray said: “After doing all the media stuff I spent two days in my house and didn’t come out.

“I was at home with my girlfriend and the dogs. I was getting followed everywhere so I just stayed inside.

“It was a bit annoying, particularly when we then went on holiday to the Bahamas.

“I went down the beach on the first day but someone took some pictures so we didn’t go back down and just stayed in the resort.

“Funnily enough the quietest place I went to after Wimbledon was Wimbledon itself.

“I went back there on the Friday after the tournament as I had to pick up all my stuff.

“I went to there to see Dougie Dickson who had been the locker room attendant for more than 40 years and this was his last Wimbledon.

“He was retiring and Friday was his last day. The place was totally deserted and that was probably the coolest part for me.

“After everything that went on and the mad few days afterwards the quietest place I could go was Centre Court at Wimbledon.

“I went back onto the court and there was no one in there, not even any security guards.

“It was completely silent and that for me was probably the best thing about the whole experience.

“It was just a time to sit there and think about what had happened.”

In the wake of claiming his second major title, there have been trips to Downing Street with Prime Minister David Cameron endorsing him for a knighthood.

But, one month on from the sensational triumph which thrilled a nation Murray is back at his day job, doing what he does best.

The Dunblane star is in Montreal preparing for the Rogers Cup, his first competitive outing since Wimbledon. As far as he’s concerned Sir Andrew can wait.

Murray is more interested in adding to his two Grand Slams than having honours bestowed upon him by the Queen.

Asked how many majors he might win, he said: “I just want to try to win the next one.

“I hope that’s how it is for the rest of my career. I don’t see a point in setting a number on it. I want to prepare for each one like it’s my last. It took me a long time to win my first one and I want to give myself another opportunity at the US Open.”

With three weeks until he begins the defence of his Flushing Meadow crown, the Wimbledon winner faces a stern test at the Rogers Cup where 17 of the world’s top 20 players are gathered.

Top seed and reigning champion Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin del Potro, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych will all be in opposition with Roger Federer the only notable absentee from the elite.

Murray has already been in town for more than a week and while Montreal is predominantly French speaking there are more than enough Scottish influences littered around the place to make him feel like home.

The street signs are a giveaway with McDougal Road, Montrose Avenue, Rue McGill and Rue MacKay all paying tribute to the Scots industrialists and financiers who helped establish the city while there is also a statue of Rabbie Burns in Dominion Square.

Murray’s game head is back on although he did admit it was difficult to get back into the swing of things during his recent two-month training block in the sweltering heat of Florida.

He said: “Practising in Miami was getting back to reality for me.

“It was so hot and I could only practise for an hour and a half in the morning before hitting the gym in the afternoon. I got to enjoy Wimbledon for a few weeks but now it’s time to get ready to try to win the US Open.

“The first coupe of practices I had were not great as it was so hot and I was hitting the ball badly.

“But once I started to practise a bit better I felt good and I’m hoping to use Wimbledon as a motivation to win more majors.”

The tributes have flowed thick and fast since that memorable Sunday in SW19 but while ?politicians, celebrities and fellow sportsman have been queuing up to offer their congratulations it is the support from his peers which means most to the Scot.

He added: “Compared with the US Open I have had a lot of messages from players, coaches and people within the sport.

“I think they understood what it means for a home player to win their home Grand Slam.

“A lot of them have seen what Tim Henman went through and the pressures I had to deal with. That means a lot to me.”

Murray has been given a first- round bye at the Masters event he won both in 2009 and 2010 and will play the winner of Grigor Dimitrov and Marcel Granollers in round two on Wednesday.

But, having also entered the doubles with compatriot Colin Fleming in a bid to get even more match practice under his belt ahead of New York, the 26-year-old will be on court for the first time tomorrow afternoon.